In this video series, we’ll feature different Knerds explaining problems, concepts, equations, and projects that pertain to their work here at Knewton. In this video, QA Engineer Jonathan Bethune discusses how Knewton leverages Amazon Web Services using a deployment tool developed in-house. This allows us to abstract away a lot of the complexity of building developer environments.

This post was inspired by Edge.org’s collection of responses to the question, “How has the Internet changed the way you think?” Check out our other posts on the subject here. In elementary school I worried about discrete facts. I had to memorize the preamble of the United States Constitution, and recall that “in the year 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue.” In high school, I worried less about discrete facts. I focused on being a… Read more

The world needs more programmers. I say this for two reasons. For one, labor studies show that the supply of talented engineers is not even close to meeting the demand. This is true both in the United States and across the developed world. Businesses, from startups to multinational conglomerates, simply need more highly skilled engineers to help them grow. In the right markets, even novice coders can find themselves juggling scores of recruiting e-mails and… Read more

If you’ve done a bit of GMAT verbal practice, you’ve probably figured out the general tendency of GMAT CR questions: they present an argument, and then ask the test-taker to take on the role of an outside observer and identify or judge parts of that argument. One common kind of CR question is the strengthening and weakening question. These questions present an argument, and then ask test-takers to identify the answer choice that, if true,… Read more

American math teachers frequently complain about the mastery level of their incoming students. College professors are frustrated because they find themselves having to teach high school level material. High school teachers are frustrated because they have to teach middle school material. Middle school teachers are frustrated because they have to teach elementary school material. Evidence backs up their collective lament. According to multiple international assessments, American high school students rank in the bottom half of… Read more

There’s a scene in “Minority Report” you might remember that’s meant to depict the future of advertising: as people walk through a crowded mall, banners scan their retinas to beam them targeted sales pitches. While retina-scanning is extreme, this kind of customization doesn’t seem like science fiction anymore. Almost every aspect of our day-to-day lives can be personalized. A world where radio and magazine ads adjust to each individual listener or reader isn’t so hard… Read more

Let me begin with a disclaimer: Try not to do do this! Seriously. Prepping for the GMAT in two weeks is, to put it mildly, a less than ideal approach. You won’t have time to cover every topic comprehensively, nor will you be able to master as many new concepts and test-taking strategies as you would in a month or longer. That said, sometimes circumstances require a bit of cramming. Maybe you are planning to… Read more

GMAT Critical Reasoning questions test your ability to use logic. In most cases this means making inferences, identifying details, and understanding arguments. Occasionally, however, you will have to apply formal logic to understand what a CR paragraph implies. Formal, or, classical logic, has its own set of rules, and questions that make use of it will try to trip you up with wrong answer choices that contradict those rules. Consider the example below: Studies have… Read more

Prepping for the GMAT in one month is possible, but it will be hectic. While there is a lot you can do in 30 days, you will likely feel rushed if you try to fit all the work necessary to significantly improve your score. At the very least, you’ll have a very full schedule leading up to test day. (If you are trying to prep for the GMAT in one month and you find that… Read more

Students often ask how much time they should spend studying for the GMAT. The short answer: there is no one size fits all solution. That said, at Knewton we generally recommend a prep period of around three months. It’s enough time to build a solid foundation in every key area of GMAT study, but not so long that you burn out by the time exam day rolls around. If a 3-month study schedule is something… Read more